Economic Inactivity Trailblazer in Wales evaluation

Trailblazer refers to the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer Programme, launched in 2025 to test new ways of helping economically inactive people move towards employment. The programme was launched in 3 pilot areas Blaenau Gwent, Neath Port Talbot and Denbighshire. The programme aims to support people who are out of work and not actively seeking employment, particularly those who:

• have disabilities or long-term health conditions
• have caring responsibilities
• face multiple barriers to entering work or returning to work

The first part of this report evaluates the first year of Wales’s Economic Inactivity Trailblazer. The programme was established to test locally tailored approaches to reducing economic inactivity by integrating employment, skills, health and community support. 

The Theory of Change part of the report sets out 4 Theories of Change for Wales’s Economic Inactivity Trailblazer: one national model and separate models for Neath Port Talbot, Blaenau Gwent and Denbighshire. 

The Trailblazer responds to growing recognition that economic inactivity is often linked to poor health, disability and caring responsibilities. Existing support can be fragmented, difficult to navigate and focused too narrowly on benefit claimants. The programme therefore aims to create simpler routes into support, strengthen multi-agency working and give local areas flexibility to address their communities’ particular needs.

Although the pilots share common objectives, their structures, partnerships and referral arrangements vary. Innovations include online gaming to reach housebound young people, targeted outreach to underserved communities, occupational-therapy support, stronger community-sector involvement and improved management information systems. These differences allow the programme to test how different models operate across varied local circumstances.